Lindisfarne is one of England’s most iconic Anglo-Saxon sites. Lost to history for over 1,000 years after being raided by the Vikings, we’ve now located some of its remains. You can help us gather the evidence and piece it back together.

Sitting on a small tidal island opposite the famous Bamburgh Castle, King Oswald chose Lindisfarne as the place to establish a monastery in AD 635. But it was no ordinary monastery: it quickly grew to become the golden heart of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria.

Made famous by chroniclers like Bede and Alcuin (and more recently by the popular TV show Vikings), it’s where the Lindisfarne Gospels were illustrated, where the treasures that adorned the altars of early Medieval Europe were forged, and where thousands of miracle-seeking pilgrims came to seek healing. Lindisfarne’s power and influence reached deep into the heart of continental Europe, and was described by Alcuin as ‘the most venerable place in Britain’.

But archaeologists still have some very big questions to answer: where exactly was it, and does any evidence still survive?

Over the last two years, hundreds of crowdfunders have helped us find some tantalising evidence, including several early Christian burials, Anglo-Saxon sculptures and monumental buildings very similar to those at other important early Medieval monastic sites like Hartlepool.

It’s clear that we’ve now located a significant part of this missing monastery, but there’s plenty left to find.

Support this dig and you can excavate alongside our team, join us in the Finds Lab, or follow our progress online as we uncover one of England’s most iconic Anglo-Saxon sites and piece its story back together.

Lindisfarne’s early monastery sat right at the heart of Northumbria’s Anglo-Saxon power and politics. It was a major population centre, a hub of cultural influence, and a place of fusion between the Roman and Irish religious worlds.

Now that we’ve located a significant part of the site, we need to recover and record its remains. A lot of evidence survives, and by supporting this dig, you can help us begin the delicate process of recovering it.

The archaeology we’re poised to unearth in 2018 has the potential to offer huge insight into the lives of those who lived through Lindisfarne’s golden age, endured the Viking attacks and witnessed this transformative period in English history.

Some of the discoveries our crowdfunders made are so significant that they featured in the Guardian, The Times, The Daily Mail and on BBC4’s Digging For Britain programme – this was the very first time any crowdfunded discovery had been featured on the show. And they’re just the tip of the iceberg.

We found several Anglo-Saxon burials, a namestone, a monumental wall, the outline of several early medieval buildings, plenty of pottery, and a silver coin minted during the reign of King Eadberht, as well as some curious bone artefacts which seem to be proof that some people continued to live on the island long after the monastery was supposedly abandoned.

Lindisfarne is one of the most iconic sites in England’s Anglo-Saxon history. Having been missing for over 1,000 years, we’ve now located a significant part of it.

Only a full-blown excavation can now uncover the rest of it, and put this iconic site back on the map.

In September 2018, we’ll continue the search for King Oswald’s monastery. The excavation is set to take place over two and a half weeks including:

Tuesday 4th – Sunday 9th September

Tuesday 11th – Sunday 16th September

Tuesday 18th – Wednesday 19th September

Now that we’ve located a significant part of the monastery, our plan is to use this time to:

Investigate the burials we found. One of our main aims will be to find out if they were part of a more extensive cemetery that belonged to the original Anglo-Saxon monastery

Look for evidence of life after the Viking attack. We want to assess the real impact of the raids on the island’s population

See if we can find traces of more buildings. Mapping out the monastery’s layout will be a huge achievement – what we found so far was just a little corner of it

We’re also changing the way archaeology is done, sharing the results and discoveries so that you can watch as we make them.

We need to raise £30,000 to carry out our excavation, analyse everything we find, and make the results available online. By supporting the dig, you will be helping us to:

Plan the dig. There are some (fairly complicated) logistics involved!

Run the excavation. We need enough archaeologists on site to make sure that everyone who comes digging with us has plenty of expert support

Pay for all the ‘aftercare’. We’ll need specialists to conserve and take care of all the artefacts we find – especially any burials and human remains

Analyse all the finds. We’ll also need specialists to analyse and interpret everything we find, including any burials, animal remains, ceramics, metal artefacts and environmental samples

Share lots of updates before, during and after the dig. It doesn’t start and end with excavation. We’ll be publishing videos, live streams, virtual artefacts and blogs so that you can follow the whole process from start to finish

Make sure that all of our data, discoveries and interpretation are freely available online. We think that the results of publicly funded research should be free and easy to access. We’ll be putting all of ours online as soon as they’re made.

Support this dig and have a role in some great archaeology!

What happens if we don't reach our crowdfunding goal

We’ve set our crowdfunding goal to match the level of excavation and analysis we think this site deserves. Obviously, the closer we get the better, and the more people who join in the more we can discover, but we won’t abandon our plans if we fall shy of the target – this archaeology is too important to miss!

If we don’t reach our goal, we’ll stick to our guns and do the dig anyway – we’ll just scale down the size of the excavation to suite.

For example, we’d excavate a smaller area and send fewer artefacts off for scientific analysis, but the dig would still happen and you’d still be part of our team.

That being said, we’re confident we’ll reach our goal because we know there’s incredible archaeology waiting to be found and people like YOU are willing to help us prove it!

What happens when I make my contribution?

PLEASE NOTE: We will be communicating with you on the email address you use for your purchase.If you haven’t heard from us, please check your junk or spam folder.

As soon as you make a contribution to the campaign, you’ll get a payment confirmation.

We’ll then follow up with a welcome email thanking you for your contribution, and (where relevant) to request a little bit more information about things like preferred dig dates, or details for your chosen reward, like t-shirt sizes etc.

You’ll need to reply to this welcome email as soon as you can to make sure we have all the details we need to get you booked in.

If you’re digging with us, we will send you an Info Pack with more information about the site, what to bring and joining instructions closer to the time.

If you need to book travel and accommodation, we’ve provided some hints and tips in the following FAQs.

If you have any other questions in the meantime, get in touch! You can reach us on hello@digventures.com, or 0333 011 3990

When will I get my goodies?

If you join the crowdfund before 14th December 2018, we’ll send your goodies (like t-shirts and chocolate artefacts) in time for Christmas.

If you join the crowdfund after that, we’ll send them in May at the start of the 2018 field season.

You’ll then start getting all your digital goodies (like videos updates and virtual artefacts) as soon as the dig begins!

Which days can I dig with you?

The dig runs for two and a half weeks, including:

Tuesday 4th – Sunday 9th September 2018

Tuesday 11th – Sunday 16th September 2018

Tuesday 18th – Wednesday 19th September 2018

You can start your dig experience on any Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday.

Anyone who joins the dig for two weeks starting on Tuesday 4th September will be invited to stay on for the last two days on the 18th and 19th for free.

PLEASE NOTE: 18th & 19th September are now fully booked, with only a few places reserved for those joining us for two weeks.

Which days can I join you in the Lab?

If you don’t want to dig, but do want to help out in the Finds Lab, you can join us in the second week of the dig:

Tuesday 11th – Sunday 16th September 2018

You can start your lab experience on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday.

Where is it?

Holy Island, Lindisfarne, Northumberland. We’ll send you more information once you’ve signed up.

Do you have any advice on accommodation in the area?

Accommodation isn’t included, so you’ll have to book your own.

A quick search online will reveal that there’s plenty to choose from, from holiday parks and self-catering cottages, to B&Bs and hotels – something to suite every budget!

It’s important to note that Lindisfarne is a very popular tourist destination and accommodation gets booked up extremely quickly.

If you’re coming to dig with us, we recommend that you book your accommodation for the dig as soon as possible. Here’s a few suggestions:

On the mainland there are many places to choose from. The closest accommodation to the island is the Lindisfarne Inn: http://www.lindisfarneinn.co.uk, but a simple online search will turn up many options in the area.

Camping

There is strictly no camping allowed on Lindisfarne, but there are some great camp sites nearby on the mainland.

It’s Ritual. Pardon My Trench. We Don’t Dig Mondays… Our famous archaeology team t-shirts are well known for making a statement! We’ll send you our latest design, as worn by our team – don’t worry, we’ll keep it clean while we’re on site getting dirty!

Estimated delivery: Order by midnight 14th Dec to receive before the holidays
+ Digital Venturer + Your Name In Lights

A priceless artefact that you can EAT? Yes, we’ll send you a full-size chocolate cast of our most iconic discovery yet – an intricately carved Anglo-Saxon namestone. It’s so good you’ll have a tough time deciding whether to eat it, or exhibit it.

Estimated delivery: Order by midnight 14th Dec to receive before the holidays
+ Digital Venturer + Your Name In Lights

Probably our most exciting reward yet! This playful necklace is hung with six iconic artefacts, each representing a different era. Handmade exclusively for our crowdfunders by British jeweller Tatty Devine, you can be sure this is one piece that will NEVER go out of fashion. You can also buy the charms individually in our shop – the perfect reward for supporting archaeology in style!

Estimated delivery: Order by midnight 14th Dec to receive before the holidays
+ Digital Venturer + Your Name In Lights

Archaeology isn’t just for adults. If you’ve got a budding archaeologist on your hands, we’ll give you and your child a full day of archaeology and fun on our dig, where you can make a real archaeological discovery together!

Make your dream of being an archaeologist come true and spend a day digging alongside our team! Grab a trowel, try something new, and make a REAL archaeological discovery on the dig. No experience needed – we’ll teach you everything you need to know.

Join the team for two days on site and you’ll get plenty of trowel time, plus a chance to try out some extra archaeological skills, like how to provide the aftercare for your discoveries. If there’s a better way to unwind after a hard week at the office, we’ll eat our hats.

Dates: Start on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday for a Dirty Weekend!
+ Digital Venturer + Your Name In Lights + Team T-Shirt

Now you’re getting some proper archaeology action! Come for a week and get trained up as an archaeologist. You’ll be in the trench from Day One and learn a bunch of extra skills, like how to locate archaeology, analyse what you find, and provide the aftercare for your discoveries. Who knows what you’ll discover?

Archaeology student wanting to top up your field skills? DigVentures is the UK’s only CIfA-accredited field school, and a week digging alongside our team will give you the chance to use some of the most cutting-edge field techniques. We’re even happy to give you a skills assessment and targeted training. We will require email confirmation of enrollment status from your tutor.

Spend two weeks doing archaeology with our team, digging, learning a bunch of extra skills and putting it all into practice so that you can walk away with the confidence to use them – wherever archaeology takes you next. Seasoned pros would trade their favourite trowel for an opportunity like this!

A week in the Finds Lab and you’ll be up there with the likes of Helen Geake! As well as learning to carefully clean, sort, and identify the finds, you’ll make headway into what archaeologists do with them next.